Sign construction



Feb. 18, 1930.

J.\E. STEWART ET AL SIGN CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Feb. 28, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l Z p AJLb A TTORNE Y Feb. 18, 1930.

J. E. STEWART ET AL 1,747,400

SIGN CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 28, 19z7 INVENTOR;

,3 {4 3;- mATTORNEY Feb. 18, 1930. J. E. STEWART ET AL SIGN CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Feb. 28, 1927 s Sheets- Sheet a B H I,

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Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE JAMES E. STEWART AND PHILIP HORINSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO ELECTRIC DISPLAY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK SIGN CONSTRUCTION Application filed February 28, 1927, Serial No. 171,530. Renewed July 5, 1929.

construction for removably holding ex-' hibitory matter in display position.

In sign constructions, and more particularly of the lamp box or illuminated type, difficulty has been found in providing satisfactory means for mounting interchangeable letters or other display characters in firmly seated positions in the holders. It is necessary to securely hold the characters in display position in order to maintain orderly alinement as well as to maintain contact of the character-bearing members with the surfaces of the holders and thereby cut ofl the escape of light rays except through the'translucent or transparent material of which the characters are formed.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a sign structure which will be free from the objections referred to and which will include character supporting devices arranged to hold the members with the desired immovability and closeness of fit in the seats provided.

The invention comprises a sign structure including a framework provided. with sight openings with which character-bearing members cooperate to provide the desired indication. Seat forming flanges are mounted on the inner face of the framework adjacent the openings to receive edge portions of the members. Spring clip members are arranged adjacent the opposite edges of the openings to engage and exert pressure on the rear faces of the members to hold them in snug contact with the inner surface of theframework at the margins of the openings.

. Another feature of the invention resides in an arrangement of the spring clip members in such manner as to facilitate the ready interchange of the character bearing members, the spring clip members permitting the rapid removal and replacement of the members as desired. 7

Other features of the invention will be hereinafte-r referred to. v

In the drawings, in which a number of embodiments of the invention have been selected for illustration:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing a slgn structure embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view in transverse vertical section of the device shown in Figure 1';

Figure 3 is a view in Vertical section and on an enlarged scale taken on the line 3-3 of- Figure 1;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display Dnember used in connection with the invenion; I

Figure 5 is a front view of a blank from which a display character holder is formed;

Figure 6 is a view in transverse vertical section and on an enlarged scale of the display portion of the device;

Figure 7 is a view in perspective showing the relation of a display character to the 70 holding device;

Figure '8 is a perspective view of a portion of a sign showing the relation of the display characters thereto;

"Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing a modified form of the invention;

Figure 10 is a front view partly broken away of the display section of the device Figure 11 is a view in vertical section and on an enlarged scale taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 10';

Figure 12 is a View in vertical section and on an enlarged scale taken on the line 1'2-1'2 of Figure 10;

Figure 13 is a view in horizontal section and on an enlarged scale taken on the line 13- -13 of Figure 10.

Figure 14 is a view in vertical section of a modifiedformof the invention.

Referring to the drawings for :a more detailed description of the" invention, an illuminated sign structure is'shown which includes a lamp house 10 and a frame member 11 designed to hold exhibitory or display matter as at 12. The lamp house 10 is adapted to be equipped with any suitable source of illumination, such as an electric incandescent bulb 13. Preferably ventilating openings are provided at 14 and 15 in the lower and upper walls of the lamp house as is shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The invention resides'in the structure which the exhibiting or display elementsare removably' supported in displagi positionin front of the lamp house. 10. eferrin'g to Figures 6,? and 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that'display member supporting devicesare utilized which consist of elongated I frame members 16 formed of sheet metal or the like and provided with a series of openings17'. "The'ope nings shown in the drawing "are rectangular in formation but they may be formed in any other desired shape. The

openings 17 function as sight openings through'which display characters, such as are shown at 18 in the drawings, 'are viewed.

The display characters '18" are formed onblocks or platesflgw hich preferably consist -of translucent or transparentymaterial ofany suitable character. The display'memr bers 19 are arrangedto be mounted. in positi on'iback of the sightiopenings 17 .intlie frames 16in order to support the display characters thereonin the desired display positionl r i In order to hold the display members 19 in the proper-position for exhibition ordis play, theframe members16 are provided at i the'rear of their uppermost and lowermost edgesywith curvedseats Ior bracket members 20 and 21. The curved seat or flange 21 exftcndi'ng along the lowermost edge, ot'each frame member 16 is adapted to receive the lowermost edgeportion of an individual dis a playmember 19, thenppermost edge, of the display member being adapted to be forced into position .beneaththe curved flange member20 which is formed along the up per marginof the framamember. With this eonstruction it will be seen that the display member 19 isseated'at its lower edge within the curved flange member 21 at the lower edge of the frame member and that the upper most 'edge 22 of the display member makes Contact with the ower surface. of the curved fiange memb er 20 eXtendin'galong the upper v n margin of the frame member16.';' Theupper fraine meinber thereforeacts as a spring tensioned' member which serves to exert pressure throughthe formed characters ,only,the reagainst the uppermost edge of the display member '19" to hold the display member 'in its seat 21 and against'thejrearmost face of the frame member-16 tqthereby prevent the e k g Q- f ight "rays around the edges 7 of the i p y member and through thei'sight The efiect al asi's"*t'o' has the as emission of light. throughffthe' display mem bers'only, no light findingitswaythrough the forwardwall of the display device except through the formed; display cl iaractersf18 which are, carried by'th'e display members 19; t

" ,In order to {insure that light ipasses maining forward or rearwardsurface of the display member 7 coated, with opaque of thefigure, v e g g W lower portion of the figure the lower extremc material as at 23 in Figure 4 of the drawings: j

.1 Not only do'the curved flanges or seating members 20 and 21 formed on the frame member 16 serve to support theidi splay members 19 in rigid contacting relation with the rear-j uppermost flanges-or seatingmembers 20 of f each .frame member serve also to support the lowermost edgesof the overlying fra1ne-mem' ber. For examplefln Figure not the drawings it will be S6611 that the seating flange" member 20 near the upper portion of the figi ure supports the lowermost seating flange vmeInloer-21 of the frame. member 16 imme-] diatelyi above' the one shown in the 'middle On the'other hand, near :the

it yfof the middle frame member 16 is sup? ported inthe" seat 20 formed'on the upper and quickly accomplished. It willfbe seen that the signs characters are readily removed from their positions by merelyv withdrawing the; upper end from beneath the'curvedasurface 'of the vfi ange ne'mber 20 which bears thereagai'nst. On 7 the other hand' the Substitute sign member is as readily" snapped into pace; thepressure of the curved ,under surface of the flange member 20 providing the spring pres-sure required to produce thedesired snugness ot fit of the sign character in its seat. c v In Figure 5 of the drawings there is shown a blank strip of metal cut out in the desired manner to providethe frame member 16 when the upper and lower extremities of the blank are :Eormedinto the flange or seating members 2() and'21.' Theprospective View of the,

frame, members shown in'Figure/T showsjthe condition of the part when the blank shown, in Figure5 has been subjected to the further 'forming operation to produce the flanges 20 c and 21 thereof. This figure also showsa dis- ,play member '19 mounted in position between the flange members '20'and 21. I V Referring to Figure'Qof the drawings there is shown a'modified form'of the invention in which a difiterent form of seating. member 24- is used atthe upper portion of the'frame memberf25; The lower fiange member or v 126: seat 26 is, however, similar in all respects to the seat 21' shown in Figure 17:1 f I V F'gure 10 of the drawings shows the display surfaceof the device and; the'assembled relation of a plurality of frame members 16. It will be'see n that three frame'vmembers are used having overlapping relation at their upper and lower extremities to thereby preventthe passage of light rays between the frames.

The interengagementof the frames witheach V 7'0 2: ward faces of the frame member 16 but the other is the same as that shown in the enlarged sectional view of Figure 6.

The upper portion of the forward display surface of the device preferably has a panel formation as at 27 in Figure 1. The panel effect thus provided consists of a single plate or section of material such as is shown at 28 in Figure 2, this section of material having 30 being arranged to move vertically in order to provide for the removal of the upper edge of the panel 28 from a groove 31 provided for the purpose in the upper member of the framework 11. A hook member 32, terminating in a knob 36, is arranged to engage the inner face of the channel member 30 at a mid point therein to lock the removable lower frame member 33 in position in the enclosing frame member 11.

In Figure 3 of the drawings there is shown a vertically disposed flange member 34 so positioned as to preclude light rays escaping from the lamp box along the lateral edges 35 of the display members.

In Fig. 14: is shown a modified form of the invent-ion in which the frame member 37 which in general is similar to that shown in Fig. 6 is formed at its upper end with a folded back portion 38 for holding the blank 19.

Any suitable material may be used in the construction of the display members. Glass, celluloid, casein, bakelite, or other materials, are capable of use in the manner described, and the particular material employed forms no essential part of the present inven- ,tion.

The terms and expressions which we have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and we have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equiva- 'lents of the features shown and described,

- and spring clip members mounted on the framework adjacent the margins of the open ings opposite the seat, said spring clip members having bowed portions arranged to engage the adjacent edge and the rear surfaces of display members supported in said seat in display relation to said openings and having exterior seat portions shaped to mate with the elongated seat of a similar adjacent framework.

2. In an exhibiting sign construction, a series of frame members provided with display openings, each of the frame members being provided with a seat forming flange in which to receive display members mounted in display position with relation to the display openings, and a seat formed on the opposite margin of each frame member in which to receive theseat forming flange of another frame member in the series. 1

3. In an exhibiting sign construction, a series of frame members provided with display openings, each of the frame members being provided with a seat forming flange along one margin thereof in which to receive'display members mounted in display position with relation to the openings, the opposite margin of each frame member being provided with a spring tension member for engaging the adjacent edge of the display member and holding the display member in display position, and the next adjacent frame member in the series occupying an overlapping relation with the margin of the first named member.

4%. In an exhibiting sign construction, a series of frame members provided with display openings, each of the frame members being provided with a seat forming flange member extending along one margin thereof in which to receive display characters arranged in display position with relation to the openings, each of said frame members being provided with a seat forming flange member adjacent its opposite margin, said seat forming flange being so arranged that its convex surface engages the edge of a display member to hold the display member in display position, and the concave surface of said flange member being adapted to receive the seat forming flange of an adjacent frame member in the series. 7

5.. In an exhibiting sign construction a series of sheet metal frame members provided with display openings, each of the frame seat for the display member and on its opposite face a seat for engagement with a similar adjoining frame member, substantially as described.

' JAMES E. STEWART.

PHILIP HORINSTEIN. 

